grass Standard rainy Showers

directions Stable yard directions

Stables: Newcastle Racecourse, High Gosforth Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 5HP

Newcastle Racecourse sits within the 812‑acre Gosforth Park estate and has been the centre of North East racing since it opened there in 1882. Racing in the region goes back much further, with organised meetings on the Town Moor from the early seventeenth century and the first Northumberland Plate run there in 1833 before the race transferred to Gosforth Park in 1882.

The course developed through the Victorian era with new stands, stabling for around 100 horses, and both flat and chase tracks. It later became part of Northern Racing in 1994 and then Arena Racing Company after a merger in 2012. In 2016 the flat turf course was replaced by a modern Tapeta all‑weather surface, a £15 million redevelopment that turned Newcastle into a year‑round racing venue with floodlit evening fixtures while retaining a turf jumps track.

Newcastle's most famous race is the Northumberland Plate, the 'Pitmen's Derby', a major two‑mile handicap that has been central to the region's sporting culture since the nineteenth century. The course also stages the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle each November, a key early‑season Champion Hurdle trial, as well as the marathon Eider Chase in February, one of the longest and most demanding chases in Britain.

The flat courses are left‑handed, with a one‑mile Tapeta circuit and a two‑mile turf circuit. The all‑weather straight is five furlongs, while the turf straight is a mile, and both surfaces are known for being fair, galloping tests with a steady rise to the line. The combination of all‑weather flat racing and traditional National Hunt fixtures makes Newcastle one of the most versatile courses in the country.

Newcastle Raccourse
High Gosforth Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 5HP